


frozen hunting grounds.

by Skeletus



Category: Red Dead Redemption
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff(?), Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 18:01:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skeletus/pseuds/Skeletus
Summary: while out hunting charles gets into some trouble, arthur takes care of him and they share some much needed time away.established but early relationship.im terrible at writing summaries please enjoy~





	frozen hunting grounds.

if you asked anyone in camp save pearson of course, who provided provisions for the camp - they would tell you arthur and charles. not a buffalo, deer, nor squirrel came through without being carried by either of them and more often than not, both of them. 

of the two men, neither would eat before the rest and especially neither would eat without the other. among the camp seeing the two eating a portion of food between each other, silently fighting which would get the bigger half of the portion as arthur nudged the remainder of his meat to the other side and charles nudged the vegetables to his, wasn’t unusual. 

what _was_ unusual was them coming home empty handed, again and again. day after day they trudged into camp, heads held low and slower than before, staying out longer and travelling farther. the others finished off the provisions yesterday and they became more desperate. it was just too cold. over the week a flash freeze had blown over and froze the lakes, covered the grass and tracks and chilled the inhabitants. 

night had rolled in but neither had slept more than an hour, having fed themselves last the hunger pains had gotten to them first. the canvas of his tent cracked from the cold as he climbed out, finding charles already at a fire, warming himself as he carved out more arrows though they hadn’t used much of any lately. arthur lit himself a cigarette and took a drag, letting out a deep sigh, the smoke billowing before disappearing into the air. 

“up already?” he asked playfully, knowing charles was up for the same reason he was. the other just shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips regardless of their shared sour mood. arthur sat down next to him and took the task from his hands, trading it instead for his cigarette, it helped chase the hunger away. as he carved where charles had left off, they made eye contact and arthur knew. “you wanna go out, don’t ya?” charles gave him a thoughtful look and a curt nod. “we’re out of provisions. don’t wanna know what the others will be like when they wake up hungry.” he said simply but ironically and received a snort of laughter from the other, “good point. alright, let’s mount up, daylight should be soon.” 

-x-

they packed up and rode for what felt like hours but the moon didn’t seem to move from its spot in the sky, illuminating the snow to a bright sheen that helped them navigate. “i’ve never seen deer stray this far.” charles remarked thoughtfully as he leaned over off his saddle to peer at the tracks, they always found them but they never seemed to end, earning a humm of agreement from atop the horse next to him. 

soon after the sun peeked over the horizon but with it came wicked winds that blew the snow in a flurry around them. “should we turn back?” charles asked, almost yelling to be heard over the howling of the wind. “it should die down soon, we can try on foot for a bit, in the trees.” arthur responded and received a nod in return. they got off their horses and left them at the edge of the forest, the trees help divert off the wind so it didn’t cut to the core. 

not long after a strong hand laid on his shoulder and pushed to which he went down willingly to crouch among the trees, “ _there._ ” a deep breath close to his ear, an arm through his peripheral vision pointing to a creature that was no more than a speck of dirt on the blinding white horizon. “deer. only one. must’ve got split off from the herd.” he nodded his agreement, shell of his ear brushing against the other from their close proximity.

“I’ll go left, cut it off. you stay here and give it your best shot.” charles reached to grab the rifle off arthur’s back, who minuvered himself to let the strap come off his chest and arm. “that’s a looong shot.” he remarked in reply, running a hand through his stiffening hair, he heard the bolt cock the other checked the chamber (as arthur’s usual - always loaded) and lock as it was loaded then pressed to his chest. 

“you’ve got it. i know you do.” the hand returned to his shoulder and squeezed, there was a pressure as charles used it to stand then set off ahead. arthur watched his back as he left down the hill then sighed mumbling a small ‘i better’ under his breath as he moved his legs behind him to lay down. the snow crunched and packed under his weight as he shifted to a comfortable position, shoulders pushing the snow and squaring for him to lean forward. peering through the scope he watched charles descend the hill they were on until he was on flat ground. 

the scope turned away from his partner and his breaths came slow as he followed the creature along. thankfully, it was moving slow, snout nuzzling through the snow attempting to find feed beneath. then slowly.. the air left his lungs, the scope stabilized. _one. two. three._ **bang**. the deer began to flail wildly as the bullet pierced its chest, legs running faster than its thoughts as it struggled for purchase then sprinted off, leaving a heavy dark crimson trail behind. it wouldn’t get far. 

“its wounded!” an echo. between the trees he could see charles run out along the snow towards the deer, until his footing seem to fail and he fell backwards; shoulders hitting the ground and a sickening crack rang throughout the forest, followed by the sound of panicked splashing. “ _shit_.” arthur exclaimed in disbelief, head whipping around trying to catch a glimpse around the trees but every sight of charles had disappeared under the snow - and ice. “ **shit shit shit**.” he roared, dropping his tools where they may and beginning his trudge through the thick sheet. “i’m comin’, charles! i’m comin!” he yelled breathlessly as the cold winds blew past and took his breath with them in clouds of smoke. 

where he had last seen him seemed miles away, his ears rung with adrenaline and the world had almost gone silent save his heartbeat that pounded between his temples. not caring for what may lie underneath the snow he ran and slid down, hitting branches and rocks on the way. as soon as he got to flat land and his footing faltered he moved to his knees and spread out his body weight, kicking his legs and using his hands to drag himself along the ice. when he found the hole charles had broke through his chest seized as nothing was beneath it. quickly his leather bound hands viciously shoved the snow aside around it, trying to catch a glimpse of anything under the blurred ice.

“ _come on, **come on**_!” he growled indirectly toward any god or entity that cared to watch this unfold and do nothing to help him. **there!** he caught a glimpse of black akin to an ink stain flowing wildly through the water. just as fast as he had seen it he stripped the gloves from his hands, grabbed his knife and began to stab it into the ice, twisting and chipping away until it cracked. fists moving quick afterward to beat into the ice which quickly became stained with his blood as his knuckles stripped open in his effort. finally the ice gave way and threatened to take him too but he spread out further, pulling chunks of ice and throwing them aside until he could lay down at its edge and submerge up to his shoulders into the frigid water. his hands waved wildly under the sheet, his nose touching the surface as he attempted to see. after too long for his liking he managed to hook his arms under charles’, his feet kicking and scraping the ice as they fought for purchase to heave the other from his soon to be icy grave.

the surface broke with a loud gasp of air and harsh hacking as I charles’ lungs both sucked in as much air as they could and fought to rid itself of the water he’d sucked in. “ _shh shh_. i got you. i got you. i always got you.” arthur cooed, arms locking around the others chest and leaning back to pull the other on top of him and distribute their weight as charles kicked and flailed in self preservation. eventually the coughs slowed and he calmed, hands finding purchase in a strong grip on arthur’s arms that elicited a small wince from the other as felt his bones grind. “i c- i couldn’t s-see the i- ice. g-got s-sloppy.” he struggled, teeth chattering loudly but not loud enough to mask the sound of angry self deprecation in his tone. 

“ _shhh_. it’s okay. don’t care nothin’ about the deer over you.” he assured, hands tightening around the other as he pressed them cheek to cheek to share the flared heat that rose on his face from the chill. charles was cold as death itself and had already begun to shake wildly. “we gotta go, okay, get you somewhere warm and quick.” charles nodded quickly grip slowly releasing off him and arthur sat up, keeping one arm locked across his chest and using his feet and free hand to scoot them back toward the lakes edge. 

as soon as he felt grass under his verging on frostbitten fingers he set himself on it and stood, lifting charles up along with him. the other still chattered and shook as he put a hand on his arm and turned him to see his face, his eyes dark with what arthur knew to be barely suppressed anger. “stop that, y’hear?” he couldn’t help himself soothing, his hands roughly running up the sides of the others crossed arms, trying to bring some friction to him before he pulled him in. charles promptly put his face to the warmth of the crook of his neck and breathed a deep shaky sigh. the shaking slowed for a moment as arthur wrapped his arms behind charles’ shoulders, turning his face and pressing his mouth to the others temple, feeling his already freezing hair against his cheek. “there’ll be more deer. wouldn’t have been another you.” he spoke softly, deep breath soothing and calm, sending a different kind of shiver down charles’ neck and he nodded softly into the skin of his neck. “thank you.” he mumbled softly but arthur just snorted a short laugh “did it for both of us. now let’s go.” 

a shrill whistle and their horses came running, shaking the snow from their manes and toeing impatiently at the ground. “up ya go” arthur grunted as he helped charles up onto his horse, lifting himself up behind him and scooting close. “follow, girl.” he whistled to taima and set off. not a half a mile out on their journey here he’d seen a dark cabin and a small barn, was a good a place of any to start.

the only sound on the short journey there was the crunching snow and poorly contained chattering of teeth from both of them. when they arrived arthur put a steady hand on charles’ back and held him up as he got off to investigate. “I’ll only be a moment.” his hand left the small of the others back, squeezing his arm before he let go. he pulled a repeater from the horses saddle and set off toward the cabin. 

one knock. two knock. nothing. “hello?” he called loudly over the sound of the howling wind. another knock. quiet. he tried the handle and was surprised to find it open, quickly but cautiously he went through each of the rooms and deemed them empty before sprinting back outside. “empty.” he breathed, charles said nothing which concerned him more than his usual silence. he grabbed two pelts from the back of the horse and wrapped them around his shoulders as he brought him down off the saddle. “come on inside while i check the barn.” he held the other tightly, bringing him into the house and standing him in front of the empty fireplace. 

“I’ll be back, gotta make sure it’s all clear, okay?” nothing, again. it wasn’t like him to not offer help even if he couldn’t manage it, but arthur had to leave, had to check. with a lingering hand on him he sprinted back out, tutting for the horses to follow. “c’mon girls, to the barn!” and pulled out his gun again. the barn was empty, save some hay barrels and a broom, which he quickly tore apart and laid on the ground for them to eat and sleep among. the broom he took outside and shoved between the handles of the barn door so the wind wouldn’t catch it. beside the barn laid a wood pile and he quickly shoved as many as he could under his arms and ran back to the house. 

when he got back in he shut and barred the door with a wardrobe then continued on in. it was much warmer inside without the chill of the wind and his skin began to burn as it warmed, he couldn’t imagine how charles’ felt. he found him again standing in the same spot he’d left him, a pool of water beginning at his feet. 

“c'mon we gotta get you outta these.” arthur spoke urgently and made his way over, throwing down the wood next to the fireplace and a log or two inside. he ran through the house and grabbed some books he had seen on his initial check, ripping the pages from their spines and throwing them into the fireplace. the logs had gotten wet, they’d need a lot of help and he’d hope it would stick. his hands fumbling he found his matches in his coat and struggled for a moment to grab just one with shaking hands before he did and bared his teeth biting down to tug and strike the match between his teeth. he carefully turned a page over the flame until it was well lit then set it into the fire to light the rest. 

after the fire took he stood up quickly and set himself in front of charles, carefully pulling apart his arms that had wrapped together in front of himself and peeled off his soaking coat before setting it by the fire. as he peeled the rest of his clothes off and set them by the fire the shaking had returned with a vengeance, teeth chattering unhindered. “shhh. it’s okay. we’re gonna get you warmed up.” he tugged the pelts tighter around him and placed his hands on the others bare upper arms and rubbed. skin to skin, while arthur had flared hot, charles had gotten cold as the ice itself.

“gotta share my warmth, that okay?” he asked as he peeled his own sodden clothes off, he always asked such questions even though he knew the answer. there wasn’t much modesty between them, they often shared same watch at camp, meaning they also shared the lake as they cleaned up before each day, among other things. charles nodded slowly and his feet became unstuck as he made his way over to arthur, “s-sorry s-so col-ld i-” he attempted to explain his silence and lack of help but arthur waved him off as soon as he started. 

“not another word till you’re warmed up.” he said firmly but fondly, pulling the other to him and pulling one of the pelts from his shoulders and laying it on the ground not far from the fireplace. it didn’t take much convincing for charles to go down, arthur was almost sure instead his knees had given out and he caught him halfway, lowering him slowly. charles sat cross-legged, hunched forward in on himself toward the fire as arthur peeled the pelt from him and sat down behind him, pulling him against his chest and wrapping them both in the fur.

they sat in silence, slowly the fires crackling becoming louder than their chattering and the shaking had subsided. charles became more lively as he warmed and began shifting to get comfortable, sitting up straighter and stretching his frozen muscles. a barely audible wince caught arthur’s attention and his brows furrowed in concern. he sat back and brushed the long damp locks aside noticing that as the other had warmed and blood flowed, deep bruises had formed across the back of his shoulders where they had hit the ice. 

“got yourself all roughed up, hmm?” he spoke softly, moving himself back forward and pressing his mouth against the bruise creeping up the back of his neck. charles had begun to turn arthur’s hands in his, inspecting the damage of them and rubbing his rough hands over the scrapes and gouges that already covered with scab. lips pressed against different pieces of the bruise before settling his chin on the others shoulder. “come back out of that head of yours.” he tried again, in a deep rumble along the shell of his ear. 

“ _stupid. foolish._ i should have known better. i **do** know better.” charles grumbled but it lacked his usual venom when he was really upset. it wasn’t often they got to sit amongst just each other’s company, and it had obviously softened both of them for the time being. arthur huffed out a laugh, he didn’t need to say it for charles to know he was laughing at him. the otherwise perfect charles smith got himself into trouble and is now sulking. arthur said nothing and charles just shook his head and resumed fidgeting with the others hands. 

“what did you mean?” he asked abruptly after a long silence and arthur gave a low questioning hum from behind him, cheek placed against charles back, he was fading. “when you said you did it for us both. what did you mean?” he felt the head on his back shake gently, “even with a mind half frozen it’s a sharp as the crack of a whip” arthur rumbled groggily, face rubbing against the others skin in an attempt to wake himself up enough to answer. “you don’t think very highly of yourself, mr. smith.” he continued, this brought a furrow to charles brow. “you mean just as much if not more to me than the others, savin’ you is savin’ me.” heat rose on his cheeks at the reply but he said nothing, only entwining their fingers and giving a short squeeze which was promptly returned. 

“now what you say we get some sleep n’ check up on that deer when we’re good n’ warmed?” arthur was already half asleep, he could tell. again charles didn’t answer aside from holding the arms around him as he laid to the side, forcing the other to come down with him. eventually he turned in the others arms and scooted forward, they entwined their legs and charles found his spot under the others chin. even in his sleepy state arthur’s fingertips found their usual rhythm of running up and down along his spine. his mind had a tendency to wander in on itself and arthur knew it, but knew also how to put it to sleep. it wasn’t long under the steady touch his eyelids grew heavy and sleep claimed him.

-x-

there was a pressure against his brow and charles opened his eyes, finding his view blocked by a stubbled neck. “mornin’” arthur grumbled, voice still laced with sleep as he pressed his mouth again to charles cheekbone, who closed his eyes appreciatively. when they first began - whatever it is they’re doing, charles had never noticed how much arthur made an effort to touch those around him. a hand on a shoulder here, a guiding hand behind the hips, sitting close enough to touch at the fire, brushing hands as he’d grab something from you. he knew now how much touch meant to the man though at first for charles he just didn’t mind being touched, now he found himself chasing the fleeting grazes like a starved man. 

they had both made the night and by the amount of light flowing in the windows it had to be around midday. charles had to resist thanking him again now that he was thawed, for saving him from his stupidity and sloppiness; he had gotten to eager to provide and it cost them. when arthur began to turn away to get up he followed the movement, pressing his lips to the corner of the others mouth. he felt the edge of lips turn up under his, then them move back only far enough to seal more properly over his own. “don’t think on it.” the other mumbled against his lips, then pressed to them once more. “you’ll be back to savin’ me soon enough.”

arthur got up first, bones cracking and setting as he stretched them out before offering a hand to charles to pull him up. their clothes had been dried and now warmed by the fire, and both set to getting themselves dressed. as he buttoned up his shirt, charles noticed the blood that had stained over his chest from stripped hands that had grabbed onto him and touched it briefly before smoothing his hand over it, a reminder that he wasn’t just in charge of his own life anymore. 

he set himself up to braid his hair but found his shoulders stiff and instead began stretching them out first. “let me.” he looked up to find arthur had been watching him with a warm expression and boots rattled as he made his way over. charles regarded him for a moment before giving in, turning around and letting the rough hands dive to his scalp. “next are you going to spoon feed me as well?” he joked lightheartedly and it earned a deep chuckle from behind him as the fingertips dug in and shook lightly to separate his dried hair then began twisting it together. “ask me nicely n’ I’ll consider it.” was the response and he rolled his eyes, both of them knowing well that unlike arthur he wouldn’t allow himself to be fawned over that much. 

“done.” the hand let his braid slip through it slowly, checking its handywork. charles turned and gave a single nod in thanks before slipping on his coat and grabbing the pelts from the floor. the sound of furniture scraping caught his attention and he followed it to the door where arthur had moved the wardrobe from barring the door. “where do you think the owners have gone?” he asked curiously, too preoccupied to voice his thoughts on this earlier.

“not too sure, probably trying to outrun the winter somewhere warm. gettin’ worse every year.” he muttered and charles slowly nodded his agreement, “so long as we leave it how we left it, shouldn’t mind too much.” he finished and set the wardrobe right, his hand stalled on the doorknob for a moment as he hesitated to leave the warmth before he swung it open and a familiar chill set back over them. 

they made their way over to the barn and were grateful to find the horses no worse for wear and probably even better fed than them. charles took his horses muzzle in his hands and gave her jaw a grateful scratch, putting their foreheads together; by the sound of arthur mumbling ‘good girl’ he assumed he’d be doing the same to his own. 

they mounted up and returned to the hunting grounds, the snow had shifted but there were obvious signs of ice now from where they had dragged the water above. arthur set off to find his gear while charles scouted for the deer, both regrouped not long later. “found it. didn’t make it far. in fact, found two. one must’ve caught scent of the other and knowing there must be food, went looking. froze instead.” 

“well, that ain’t too bad at all! - for us at least.” arthur couldn’t help the excitement of food from lacing his voice and they both set out toward the kill. together they lifted and stowed the deer on the horses and set off back to camp.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a drabble technically and is supposed to be a 'small window into their life' type deal thats why it cuts off. i hope that didnt throw you folks off but there'll be more drabbles


End file.
